After IC chips have been completed through various manufacturing processes, they are further subjected to processing steps. When leadframes are used, the processing steps are roughly as follows: bonding of a chip to a leadframe, i.e., chip bonding, wiring between the chip and the leadframe, i.e., wire bonding, coating of the chip with a plastic or other similar material for protection, i.e., plastic molding, marking of the casing, and press working, e.g., bending and cutting of the leadframe.
These processing steps are carried out in such a manner that the chips are sequentially transferred to the successive processing steps, and after each chip has been positioned in a processing apparatus provided for each step, necessary processing is performed on the chip. In the meantime, leadframes and packages vary in size and configuration according to specifications. It is necessary in order to continuously carry out the above-described processing steps to set each IC under processing in a desired position during transfer or in a processing apparatus. For this reason, it is possible to use only processing apparatuses which are conformable to the size specifications of leadframes and packages.
To use processing apparatuses in common with respect to various specifications, it is common practice to use a cassette for storing a stack of ICs, a stocker for storing cassettes, a transfer jig, an assembling jig, etc. However, IC leadframes or packages vary in specifications of configuration, size, etc. according to the kind of IC. Accordingly, it is necessary to prepare a number of different kinds of cassette, transfer jig, assembling jig, etc. which corresponds to the number of different kinds of IC to be processed. In addition, if there is a change in lot during manufacture, setup time is needed for changing each of the above-described jigs for each lot.